Glossary, part 4 (L-M)

Glossary A-C Glossary D-F Glossary G-J Glossary L-M Glossary N-P
Glossary R-V

Largement Léger,_légèrement Lent,_lentement Lié Lourd,_lourdement Lourer Majestueusement Marqué Mesure,_mesuré Modéré Mouvement

Largement (broadly, freely, generously, boldly)

Large [adj.: "broad, wide, generous"] Used figuratively: Doctors of theology whose morals are lax are said to have moral that are large. ... [It is used in the same sense about feelings that are not strict or constricting.]... It is also applied to someone who unnecessarily hurries someone else: "Relax, the countryside is large," which means that one is in a situation where one can take one's time. — Furetière, 1690, with bracketed phrases added in 1702

— Applied to painting has the same significance for the mechanical aspects of the art as the word "grand" has for the parts of that art that are within the competence of the esprit. ... The opposite of large is mesquin [petty, skimpy]. — DAF, 1694

— In painting is the opposite of mesquin. ... Painting large or largement means using wide brushstrokes, not putting too much detail in to the small parts of the objects painted, and in uniting them into large masses of light and shadow that give all these varied parts, and consequently the whole, a certain speciousness that makes it appear more vast than it really is. — Trévoux, 1771

Largement [adv.: "broadly"] Fully, entirely. — Richelet, 1681

— Abundantly, as much as and more than necessary. — DAF, 1694

— See vivace, animato, etc. — Brossard, 1703

Léger, légèrement (light; lightly, flippantly, impulsively)

Léger, légère [adj.: "light, nimble, agile"]: Dancers and acrobats must be léger and fit in every limb. ... This musician has a hand that is léger when playing instruments. — Furetière, 1690

— Weighing little. ... Also means nimble and agile: "A foot that is léger. ... Is said of a person who sings in a manner that is aisé and who moves through cadences [in the sense of "rhythms"] easily: "She has a voice that is légère. — DAF, 1694

— Is also said of a harpsichordist or organist: "His hand is léger." — DAF, 1762

— In architecture, a work that is léger is one with a great deal of open-work and whose beauty consists of using a minimum of materials. It is also said in sculpture about the delicate ornaments that come closest to Nature and that are very elaborate, hollowed-out and imaginative, for example the leaves on the finest capitals. ... Is said figuratively about things that are frivolous, unimportant, insubstantial, superficial. — Furetière, 1702

Légèreté [n.: "lightness"]: Agility, finesse. ... Is said when speaking of a writing master who writes with great aise and very quickly: "His hand has great légèreté." Is also said of an instrumentalist whose performance is extremely aisé and brilliant. — DAF, 1694

Légèrement [adv.: "lightly"]: With légèreté, in a manner that is léger. — DAF, 1694

— See allegro, leggiandro, brillante, vivace, etc. — Brossard, 1703

— In a manner that is léger. ... It also means rapidly, with agility. ... Also means superficially, as if casually, and weakly: "To touch upon a subject légèrement." ... Also means inconsiderately, imprudently, without judgment, without reason. — Furetière, 1727

— This word means a tempo that is even faster than gai, a tempo that is midway between gai and vite [quickly]. It is roughly equivalent to the Italian vivace. — Rousseau, 1768

— Some young courtiers have given this word a very different meaning from the one commonly used. In the expression: "He has an esprit léger, " one usually means that the person about whom one is speaking has an esprit that is fickle and not very judicious. However, among young courtiers, this [word] means that his esprit is vif and subtle. His conversation is légère, that is, he is not boring in conversation, he knows how to vary it. To work légèrement means to work with ease, although it should mean to work feebly, superficially, without getting to the core of things. These new ways of speaking cause misunderstandings among listeners by making them think they understand something different from what is being said. (Reference temporarily gone astray!)

Lent, lentement (slow, slowly)

Lent, lente [adj.: "slow"] Whose action, whose mouvement is doux and pesant, who advances very slowly, does little work. — Furetière, 1690

— Tardy, not fast, not moving or acting promptly. — DAF, 1694

— Term related to motion. It is used as the opposite of vite [fast]. Something that does not move quickly. — Trévoux, 1771

Lentement [adv.: "slowly"] Slowly. — DAF, 1694

— Lent or Lentement: means pesamment. In a manner that is pesant, slow, lazy, as if asleep. See adagio, grave, lento, languente, largo, etc. — Brossard, 1703

[Languente, languido, means in a languid manner, and consequently slowly and dragging the song, the beat, etc. ... Lento means lentement, pesamment, in a manner that is not vif or animé. — Brossard]

— This word is the equivalent of the Italian largo and indicates a slow tempo. Its superlative, très-lentement [very slowly] indicates the slowest tempo of all. — Rousseau, 1768

[Largo: this word place at the beginning of an air indicates a tempo slower than adagio and the slowest tempo of all. It shows that you must spin out [filer] the long sounds, stretch out the beats and the mesures. — Rousseau]

— In French music is the equivalent of the adagio of the Italians and designates a mouvement that is lent and posé. — Trévoux, 1771

Lié (tied, gliding)

Lier [verb: "to tie, to bind"] To engage, attach, cause some link. Mason's term: to join. — Richelet, 1681

— One says that an orator's speech is nicely lié when he has organized it in a natural sequence with very subtle transitions and when the coherence of the speech is very natural. — Furetière, 1690

— To tie something with a rope, a ribbon, a strip of wicker or any other material. ... It also means to bind together different parts by something that becomes incorporated with them all. ... One says "tie letters together" to mean connecting each letter [of a word] by certain lines. It also means, figuratively, to unite. — DAF, 1694

Lié, liée [adj.: "tied, linked"] Notes liées are two or several notes that are played with a single bowstroke on the violin and cello, or with a single tongue stroke on the flute and oboe. In short, all the notes under a slur. — Rousseau, 1768

Lourd, lourdement (heavy; heavily)

Lourd, lourde [adj.: "heavy, awkward"] Pesant, uncomfortable to carry, to move: "A burden that is lourd." ... Is also said of certain animals who move about pesamment, and even of men. ... Figuratively means difficult, uncomfortable: "A task that is lourd." ... Figuratively, means gross. — DAF, 1694

— Is said figuratively about boring men whose esprit is pesant: "He is a man who is very lourd." ... In painting, is said of the effect created when a painting has been worked over a great deal: "His touch is lourd," that is, he paints painstakingly. One also says: "His composition is lourd," to mean that it is depressing and without grace. — DAF, 1762

Lourdement [adv.: "heavily"] In a manner that is pesant, maladroit; grossly, stupidly. — Richelet, 1681

— Pesamment, roughly: "He fell lourdement." Figuratively means grossly: "He erred lourdement." — DAF, 1694

Lourer (to slur unequally)

Lourer [inf.: "to slur notes unequally"] Sometimes the first half-beat is made a little longer than the second. This manner is called lourer; it is used in melodies in which the sounds follow each other in conjunct motion. [In his manuscript addition to the book: The first half-beats are a bit longer than the second, that is, one dwells a bit longer on the first than on the second.] — Loulié, Eléments, 1698

— Lourer is a way of singing that consists of giving a bit more time and strength to the first of two notes of like value, for example two quarter notes, two eighth notes, etc., than to the second, without however playing the note pointé or piqué. — Brossard, 1703

— The slur mark is also called louré; it serves to connect eighth notes into pairs in simple duple and triple time, and to make them couler and roll in a manner that is pathétique and touching, as in airs for the musette. Instrumentalists who play wind instruments should give only one tongue stroke, and string players only one bow stroke to the first eighth note of a pair [or to all the notes under the slur] — Desmots de la Salle, 1728

— Musical term: said of notes that are connected [lié] to one another when sung or played. — DAF, 1762

— Means to nourish sounds with douceur and to stress the first note of each beat more noticeably than the second, although they have the same value. — Rousseau, 1768

— Musical term: "lourer notes, lourer a tune," means to connect [lier] the notes to one another in singing or playing them, so that the sounds are nourished with douceur and so that one stresses a bit more noticeably the first note of each beat than the second, which has the same value. — Trévoux, 1771

— Gracieux, not slow, not fast. — Choquel, 1763

— Lourer is a way of singing that consists of giving a bit more time and strength to the first of two notes of like value, for example two quarter notes, two eighth notes, etc., than to the second, without however playing the note pointé or piqué. — Brossard, 1703

[P.M. Ranum: In sum, lourer functions within a beat or a pulse, and it links the pair of notes that make up the beat by slurring them together and at the same time making the first note of the pair longer than the second. This rhythmic alteration stands in marked contrast to notes inégales, where there is no slurring and where the notes are grouped across the beat or pulse, rather than within it.]

Majestueusement (majestically)

Majesté [n.: "majesty"] Character of grandeur and superiority that makes sovereigns revered. ... Also said about a grave and serious air with which one does something. ... One also says that verse is full of majesty when it is grave, full of pomp, and when it has great meaning. — Furetière, 1690

— August and sovereign grandeur. ... In its strict and chief sense, is said about God. ... It is also said about kings. ... It is also said about empires, laws, august organizations and assemblies in which public authority is vested: "The majesty of the Parlement, of the Roman Empire," etc. ... Is also used in oratory about anything that seems august, grand and noble. — DAF, 1694

— Used figuratively chiefly in oratory when speaking of things that have an air of grandeur, that are admired, that inspire respect. Is also said about a grave and serious air with which one does things. — Trévoux, 1771

Majestueux, majestueuse [adj.: "majestic"] Having majesty, having a grand, noble air, winning respect and showing something venerable, grave and charming — Richelet, 1681

— Noble, grand, august; displaying grandeur, which attracts respect and veneration; and is especially said about the manner, bearing, height and the entire air of a person. — Furetière, 1690

— Having majesty, glory, grandeur. — DAF, 1694

Majestueusement [adv.: "majestically"] With majesty, with grandeur. — DAF, 1694

— See grave, maestoso, etc. — Brossard, 1703

[Maestoso means in a manner that is majestueux, full of pomp, emphatic, etc., and consequently gravement and lentement, although with expression that is vif and clearly marquée. — Brossard]

Marqué (marked, distinct)

Marquer [verb: "to mark"] Tailor's term: to make a line on the fabric with a piece of chalk before cutting the fabric. — Richelet, 1681

— To express something in particular, to specify something, to show it in detail. "This painter carefully marked all the features of the face." — Furetière, 1690

— To mark equally all the beats of the measure. — Brossard, 1703

Mesure, mesuré (measure; measured)

Mesure [n.: "a measure, a division"] Musical term: a certain regular movement that is made with the hand to guide the singer's voice according to the slow or fast beats of the music. There are various mesures [meters] in music, and they are shown by certain numbers at the beginning of the piece. All the beats of the mesure must be beaten equally. ... Dance term: a sort of cadence [rhythm] and regular movement. — Richelet, 1681

— Also said about the cadence [rhythm] and the beats that must be observed in poetry, dance and music, in order to make them agreeable and regular. ... In musical terms it is the space of time the conductor takes to raise and lower his hand to conduct the mouvements [in the sense of tempo] of the song, sometimes faster and sometimes slower, according to the type of music or the subject about which one is singing or playing. ... The mesure usually contains a second of an hour, which is about the time of a pulse and a heartbeat: so that the systole or contraction of the heart corresponds to the lifting of the hand, and its diastole, or dilatation, to its lowering. It lasts as long as a pendulum two and a half feet long takes to make a swing and then return. The mesure is regulated according to the different quality or value of the musical notes that serve to show the time that should be given to each note. For example, a whole note lasts for an up and down motion and constitutes an entire mesure. The half note lasts either an upward or a downward motion. And the quarter note lasts half an upward or half a downward motion, because there are always four of them in a mesure. The binary or double mesure is one in which the raising and the lowering of the hand are equal. The ternary or triple mesure is one in which the downward motion is twice as long as the upward one, during which one sings two half notes as the hand goes down, and one as it rises: and this is why the number 3 is placed at the beginning of the staff when one sings in triple mesure, and a cut-C when it is duple or equal. This upward and downward motion of the hand is called arsis and thesis by the Greeks. The "full measure" is one during which one sings four notes, as in allemandes, gigues, etc.. And one says that a man "sings in measure" when he carefully heeds these measures and these beats. — Furetière, 1690

— Serves as a rule to determine the extent of a quantity. ... Also, in music, means that which serves to show the beats and intervals that must be kept in music. ... One says "to sing in measure," to mean that the beats are being carefully followed in a song or while playing an instrument. — DAF, 1694

— I find that we confuse mesure with what is called cadence or mouvement. Mesure refers to the length and equalness of the beats, and cadence is strictly speaking the esprit [spirit] and the soul that must be added to it. This cadence scarcely applies to Italian sonatas. But all our airs for the violin and our pieces for harpsichord, viols, etc., select and seem to wish to express some feeling. Thus, not having invented signs or symbols to communicate our individual ideas, we try to remedy this by marking a few words such as tendrement, vivement, etc., at the beginning of our pieces, to show approximately what we mean. — Couperin, Art de toucher, 1716 [See Chapter 9 of P. M. Ranum's Harmonic Orator for more on the emotions associated with the different tempi.]

— Division of the duration of the beat into several equal parts, long enough so that the ear can perceive and subdivide the quantity, and short enough so that the idea of the first is not erased before the arrival of the second, and so that equality is felt. Each of these equal parts is also called the mesure. They are subdivided into other equal parts called "beats," which are made clear by equal movements of the hand or foot. The equal duration of each beat or of each measure is made up of several notes that are "passed through" [passer] more or less rapidly according to the number in that beat, and to which various shapes are given to indicate their different lengths. — Rousseau, 1768

[N.B.: Passer is very often used as a synonym for pointer, that is, to play notes inégales. In short, in this sentence Rousseau is referring to the notes susceptible to rhythmic alteration. Ed.]

Mesurer [verb: "to measure"], mesuré [past participle: "measured"] Something that is well regulated and proportioned is said to be "well measured." ... Deeds or words are called mesuré when they are thought out, studied. — Furetière, 1690

— One says of a speech in prose, of an address, that "The periods [complex sentences] are carefully measured," to mean that the style is harmonious and cadencé [rhythmic]. — DAF, 1762

Modéré (moderate)

Modéré [adj.: "moderate"] Tempered, mellowed. Wise, restrained, posé, regular. — Richelet, 1681

— This word indicates a mouvement [tempo] that is midway between lent and gai. It is comparable to the Italian andante. — Rousseau, 1768

Mouvement (motion, emotion, tempo)

— Some people confuse mouvement and mesure and think that (because one usually talks of an air de mouvement to distinguish it from a slow air), in singing, the entire mouvement consists of a certain bouncing associated with gigues, menuets and other such dances. Thus mouvement is completely different from what people think; and I believe that it is a certain quality that gives soul to a song and that is caused mouvement because it moves people. I mean that it attracts the attention of the listeners, even those who are most rebellious as far as harmony is concerned. [The term] may also mean that this quality inspires in [listeners'] hearts whatever passion the song wishes to arouse, principally tendresse. I do not deny that variations in tempo from fast to slow contribute greatly to the expressiveness of a song, but without doubt there is another quality that is more pure, more connected to the esprit, and that makes the listener constantly hold his breath and that renders the song less boring. — Bacilly, 1668, pp. 199-201

— The position of the body that is moving. ... Wish, liking, thought, feeling. Everything that touches and moves the heart. — Richelet, 1681

— Is said in music about the manner of beating the mesure in order to hasten or slow the song or sounds. "The courante and the menuet are distinguished by the difference in their mouvement." ... An air de mouvement is a tune in which the mesure is vite and gai: "menuets and passepieds are airs de mouvement." One says "sing, play en mouvement" to mean to heed the beat carefully, to make it very clear when singing or playing some instrument. — DAF, 1694

— Motto: sometimes it means the slowness or speed of the notes in the musical measure. Thus one says a mouvement gai, a mouvement lent, a mouvement vif, etc., and in this sense it also often means an equalness that is regular and clearly marked for all the beats of the measure. It is in this sense that recitatives are not sung de mouvement and that the menuet, the gavotte, the sarabande, etc., are airs de mouvement, etc. — Brossard, 1703

— The degree of speed or slowness that gives a mesure the character of the piece being executed. Each sort of mesure has a mouvement that is most appropriate for it and that in Italian is called Tempo giusto. But in addition there are five principal degrees of mouvement [in the sense of "tempo"] that, moving from slow to fast, are expressed by the words largo, adagio, andante, allegro and presto, and these words in French are lent, modéré, gracieux, gai and vite. It is necessary, however, to point out that since the mouvement is always less precise in French music, the words that designate it have a much more vague meaning than in Italian music. ... Although generally mouvements lents [slow tempos] are usually appropriate for sad emotions and mouvements animés [animated tempos] for gay ones, there are nonetheless often modifications through which one emotion speaks in the tone of another. Still, it is true that gaiety is almost never expressed slowly, but the sharpest anguish often is expressed in the most emotional language. — Rousseau, 1768

The Ranums'

Panat Times

Volume 1, redone Dec. 2014

Contents

Volume 1

Panat

Orest's Pages

Patricia's Musings

Marc-Antoine

Charpentier

Musical Rhetoric

Transcribed Sources

Glossary, part 4 (L-M)